Post by Salem6 on Nov 4, 2003 19:23:35 GMT
Firefighters are taking unofficial industrial action in a row over a pay deal intended to end the long-running fire service dispute.
Many fire stations across the UK are refusing to do any work other than answer 999 calls.
Anger has been mounting among firefighters since it emerged they would not receive a 7% pay rise from this month.
Employers say the rise, due to come into effect on Friday, is conditional on changes being made in the fire service which are not yet complete.
UNOFFICIAL ACTION
Norfolk
Wiltshire
Nottinghamshire
Strathclyde
Grampian
Fife
Humberside
South Yorkshire
Across Northern Ireland
Parts of Cleveland
Bedfordshire
The prime minister's official spokesman insisted negotiation not strikes were the way forward.
The settlement they agreed to, he said, was above inflation and above the level of other public service deals and the fire service had to modernise to become more efficient.
Action has been taken in parts of Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire and Humberside, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Strathclyde, Grampian, Fife, Norfolk, and Nottinghamshire.
A source told BBC News all stations in Northern Ireland were providing only emergency cover on Tuesday afternoon.
There were also unconfirmed reports of action in Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Merseyside and Essex.
Local authority employers have offered an initial 3.5% increase, with a further 3.5% rise backdated to 7 November once the changes are complete.
'Dragging heels'
Fire Brigades' Union leader Andy Gilchrist said his members were "extremely angry" their pay rise was to be paid in two stages.
The move was being seen as "political vindictiveness," he said.
"This has put fire service morale at an all-time low."
"This is seen as some sort of political vindictiveness and on the frontline is seen as bad form and people are extremely angry" Andy Gilchrist FBU.
But Ted George, chairman of UK Fire Employers and chief negotiator for the employers' side in the recent strike, told BBC News the agreement had always been clear.
"The agreement was quite specific in saying that 7% would be payable subject to verification by the Audit Commission of the implementation of the modernisation," he told Radio 4's World At One programme.
Tristan Ashby, of the Retained Firefighters' Union which represents several thousand part-time firefighters, blamed the FBU for dragging its heels on modernisation.
"It has always been clear the deal was conditional, but they've done nothing about it," he said.
He said the four main conditions which should have been implemented were:
An end to a ban on overtime
Accepting "co-respondency", in which fire crews can keep people alive with defibrillators until ambulance crews arrive
Allowing full-time firefighters to take on retained duties on their days off
Allowing "mixed crews" of both retained and full-time firefighters.
But Paul Clarke, Cambridge branch chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said firefighters in his area were "extremely annoyed" that the employers had "reneged" on their word.
"There is a lot of very angry people at fire stations today," he told World At One.
"And while as a union we cannot condone unofficial action I can understand the frustration that firefighters are feeling."
Bonfire Night
He added that the recent unofficial postal strikes may have inspired some of the firefighters' spontaneous action.
"I think what the postal workers have done may have affected the way firefighters are feeling" Paul Clarke, Cambridge FBU chairman.
"What the postal workers did showed what great solidarity there was and what can be achieved," he said.
No agreement was reached in a meeting on Monday night between FBU leaders and employers, but talks are due to resume on Thursday.
The dispute has flared as fire services across the country prepare for Bonfire Night, one of the busiest nights of the year.
The long-running pay dispute appeared to have been resolved in June, after months of strikes in which the Army used green goddess vehicles to provide cover.
Under the June agreement, 4% was paid immediately, back-dated to last November.
A further 7% was due this month, followed by a final rise of 4.2% next summer, lifting a firefighter's pay to £25,000.
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39530000/rm/_39530857_fire18_c-jones_vi.ram
Many fire stations across the UK are refusing to do any work other than answer 999 calls.
Anger has been mounting among firefighters since it emerged they would not receive a 7% pay rise from this month.
Employers say the rise, due to come into effect on Friday, is conditional on changes being made in the fire service which are not yet complete.
UNOFFICIAL ACTION
Norfolk
Wiltshire
Nottinghamshire
Strathclyde
Grampian
Fife
Humberside
South Yorkshire
Across Northern Ireland
Parts of Cleveland
Bedfordshire
The prime minister's official spokesman insisted negotiation not strikes were the way forward.
The settlement they agreed to, he said, was above inflation and above the level of other public service deals and the fire service had to modernise to become more efficient.
Action has been taken in parts of Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire and Humberside, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Strathclyde, Grampian, Fife, Norfolk, and Nottinghamshire.
A source told BBC News all stations in Northern Ireland were providing only emergency cover on Tuesday afternoon.
There were also unconfirmed reports of action in Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Merseyside and Essex.
Local authority employers have offered an initial 3.5% increase, with a further 3.5% rise backdated to 7 November once the changes are complete.
'Dragging heels'
Fire Brigades' Union leader Andy Gilchrist said his members were "extremely angry" their pay rise was to be paid in two stages.
The move was being seen as "political vindictiveness," he said.
"This has put fire service morale at an all-time low."
"This is seen as some sort of political vindictiveness and on the frontline is seen as bad form and people are extremely angry" Andy Gilchrist FBU.
But Ted George, chairman of UK Fire Employers and chief negotiator for the employers' side in the recent strike, told BBC News the agreement had always been clear.
"The agreement was quite specific in saying that 7% would be payable subject to verification by the Audit Commission of the implementation of the modernisation," he told Radio 4's World At One programme.
Tristan Ashby, of the Retained Firefighters' Union which represents several thousand part-time firefighters, blamed the FBU for dragging its heels on modernisation.
"It has always been clear the deal was conditional, but they've done nothing about it," he said.
He said the four main conditions which should have been implemented were:
An end to a ban on overtime
Accepting "co-respondency", in which fire crews can keep people alive with defibrillators until ambulance crews arrive
Allowing full-time firefighters to take on retained duties on their days off
Allowing "mixed crews" of both retained and full-time firefighters.
But Paul Clarke, Cambridge branch chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said firefighters in his area were "extremely annoyed" that the employers had "reneged" on their word.
"There is a lot of very angry people at fire stations today," he told World At One.
"And while as a union we cannot condone unofficial action I can understand the frustration that firefighters are feeling."
Bonfire Night
He added that the recent unofficial postal strikes may have inspired some of the firefighters' spontaneous action.
"I think what the postal workers have done may have affected the way firefighters are feeling" Paul Clarke, Cambridge FBU chairman.
"What the postal workers did showed what great solidarity there was and what can be achieved," he said.
No agreement was reached in a meeting on Monday night between FBU leaders and employers, but talks are due to resume on Thursday.
The dispute has flared as fire services across the country prepare for Bonfire Night, one of the busiest nights of the year.
The long-running pay dispute appeared to have been resolved in June, after months of strikes in which the Army used green goddess vehicles to provide cover.
Under the June agreement, 4% was paid immediately, back-dated to last November.
A further 7% was due this month, followed by a final rise of 4.2% next summer, lifting a firefighter's pay to £25,000.
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39530000/rm/_39530857_fire18_c-jones_vi.ram